Regular winter temperatures expected for B.C.

The Weather Network is predicting a cold and potentially stormy winter for much of the country.

The network has issued its winter forecast and suggests it will be a “more traditional” Canadian winter.

Chief meteorologist Chris Scott says this winter’s weather won’t have much in common with last year’s comparatively balmy temperatures.

Scott says the places that will be coldest compared to their average winter temperatures are in the centre of the country: Saskatchewan, Manitoba, most of Ontario and western Quebec.

But he says the cold won’t be constant – some days may be warmer than average, and others colder.

The only places that are expected to be consistently warmer than normal are in the North: the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon and parts of northern Quebec and Labrador. British Columbia is expected to hit standard winter temperatures.

Scott adds that doesn’t mean those areas will be warm, saying “this is where we expect it to be brutally cold, and we’re going to be a notch or two above brutal.”

Meanwhile, precipitation will be above average, in all its forms: rain, snow, sleet, all are possible, Scott says. That will especially hold true for the B.C. coast – however, Metro Vancouver and southern Vancouver Island will likely be spared.

“Every sign is pointing to a more traditional Canadian winter this year,” he says.